Previously, there have been several attempts at developing transporting devices for carrying a donor heart. However, these previous devices have several major disadvantages.
One of main disadvantages of the previous systems and devices has been cost and complexity. These previous devices were not disposable and cheap to manufacture. Often previous devices included complex housing components or difficult to manufacture shapes. The materials used were often rigid and not suitable for transportation of a donor heart.
Some devices often rest the donor heart on a flat or concave surface with no or little cushioning for the donor heart and this may lead to occlusion or partial occlusion of the coronary arteries or veins that were in contact with the surface. The weight of the heart compresses upon the relatively rigid mounting surface and may occlude the arteries surrounding the heart. In the event of the anterior coronary arteries or veins becoming occluded, the perfusion solution will be unable to access the dependent areas of these vessels and the heart will quickly lose viability in these areas and the success rate of transplantation may be lower.
A further disadvantage with previous devices and systems is that they often rely on the outer wall of the rigid housing to encapsulate the donor heart during transport. If the housing is damaged, the sterile field surrounding the donor heart may be destroyed.
Other previous devices were adapted to perfusion of the organ by warm blood at pressures comparable to those encountered in vivo. The present invention is suitable not only for blood at near-physiological pressures but also for low pressure, low viscosity acellular colloid or crystalloid perfusion.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,572,622 discloses a similar device wherein a donor heart is cradled on a concave mounting surface within a housing. If the housing cracks or is damaged, the sterile field within the device is destroyed. Additionally, the full weight of the heart is positioned on the cradle wherein the coronary arteries may be compressed or occluded.
Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.